Nato alert as Somali pirates seize tuna boat

Spain has dispatched a warship and called for Nato help after Somali pirates boarded a Spanish fishing boat and seized the crew.

The Playa de Bakio was reportedly seized in the same area where pirates captured the 30-strong crew of a French luxury yachtPhoto: AFP/Getty

By Fiona Govan in Madrid and Mike Pflanz in Nairobi

8:07PM BST 21 Apr 2008

The Playa de Bakio was fishing for tuna about 250 miles off Somalia when it was attacked with grenade launchers at around 1pm on Sunday and boarded by four men.

It is thought that the vessel was damaged, but yesterday afternoon it appeared to be heading for land.

Spanish media reported that the boat was bound for the Somali town of Gaan, about 30 miles from the southern town of Obbia.

Its 26 crew members, among them 13 Spaniards and 13 African nationals, were believed to be unharmed. "I am the captain of the boat ... we are all well and there is no problem, for the moment there is no problem," said Amadeo Alvarez, 55, the Galician skipper, speaking to Spanish national radio.

He was interrupted by a man who identified himself as a member of a "Somalia militia" and said in broken English that there would be no problems if their demands were met. Details of the pirates' demands have not been made public but the Somali was heard to say: "It's a question of money."

Spain responded by dispatching a frigate, on exercise in the Red Sea, to find the vessel and called for international help in the search. "The ministry of defence has alerted Nato and contacted France, Britain, and other allied countries with a military presence in the area," said Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister. The government said it was working with the African Union and Somali authorities to resolve the situation.

Authorities in the Puntland region of Somalia also said yesterday that a food ship from Dubai had been attacked. A Japanese-flagged chemical carrier bound for Saudi Arabia was also fired on by suspected pirates off Yemen.

It is understood that the fishing boat was seized in the same area where, on April 4, pirates captured the 30-strong crew of a French luxury yacht and held them hostage for a week. They were released after the yacht's owners reportedly paid a ransom of around £1 million. Six Somalis were captured by French special forces and have been taken to Paris where they have been charged.

The Playa de Bakio, which sailed from the port of Bermeo, in the Basque region, is one of a fleet of Spanish fishing boats that regularly hunt for tuna off the Horn of Africa. The Dubai-flagged Al-Khaleej was carrying food for sale in Somalia when it was boarded four miles off the northeastern Somali port of Bosasso, authorities there said.

"If these pirates have now gone ahead to hijack vessels bringing us food, this will badly affect activities at our port. We need to do something about them," said Abdisamad Yusuf Abwaan, the commerce and industry minister for the semi-autonomous northeast Puntland region.

The Japanese ship, the Takayama, was hit by what was thought to have been a rocket-propelled grenade, the Seafarers' Assistance Programme, a Kenyan-based regional maritime group, reported.

The waters off Somalia, which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years, are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world.

Shipping is warned to approach no closer than 200 nautical miles from Somalia's coast, but pirates with long-range mother ships to carry their launches are now coming out to meet them.

There were 31 actual or attempted pirate attacks in 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The targets varied from giant tankers to private yachts.

The surge in attacks, critics say, is due to shipping firms paying ransom.